Portable shower



March 1953 A. H. TIEDEMANN ETAL ,6 ,062

FORTABLE SHOWER Filed Sept. 9, 1949 INVENTORJ can SCI/HEFTL HL BE/PT h. WIDEMHA/N A TTOlP/VEY Patented Mar. 10, 1953 UNITED sr PORTABLE SHOWER Albert Henry .liedernann and Carl Schaertl, Brooklyn, N. Y.; said Ticdemann assignor to said Schaertl Application September 9, 1949, Serial No. 114,856

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a portable shower.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of an outdoor shower unit which may be made portable or for permanent installation and which may very readily and easily be set up and connected for use. Although the shower unit herein described and claimed is intended primarily for outdoor use, it may, of course, be installed indoors should this be desired. The principal application of the invention is to a portable unit which is either provided with a spikeior insertion into the ground or with a base or pedestal which is adapted to rest upon suitable horizontal surface, such as a cement pavement or a lawn.

Portable shower units with spikes or bases haveheretc-fore been designed but forone reason or another they have been found unsuitable for the purposes for which they were-devised. Especially is this true of portable shower units equipped with spikes which are to be driven into the ground. No means has been provided in these shower units which might be engaged by a hammer or other suitable striking means. In the present device, however, an anvil has been incorporated immediately above the spike and in line with it so that a hammer or heavy stone or any other suitable means that may be handy, may be used to engage the anvil for driving the stake or be into the ground. The spike and base are changeable in the present device so that oldi may be used, as desired or required.

[mother object of this invention is the proviof a shower unit or" the character described which may be hooked up to a conventional garden hose which is provided with conventional couplings or fittigs. The shower unit constituting the resent invention may be provided with external screw threads to receive a female hose fitor with internal screw threads to receive a male hose fittinw'. Other connecting means and methods may be employed, if desired. For example. the screw threads may be omitted entirely and a friction fit between the hose and the present sho er unit may be substituted in place of th sit-r threaded connection above mentioned.

What has been or" the connection between the shower deviceand the hose is equally true of the connection between the maincasting shower device and the spike or base which supper 1 i The spike and base may be placed screw threaded engagement with the main or a press it or slide fit.(with some friction) be utilized in place of the screw threaded connection between the parts.

The same remarks are equally true of the riser and its connection with the main casting of said shower device. A screw threaded engagement may be provided between the riser and the casting or, if desired, a press fit may be substituted in its place. Although the construction hereinabove described is susceptible of many variations in addition to those specifically mentioned, it will suffice to say that in the preferred form of this invention, screw threaded engagement between the: main casting and the spike, between the main casting and the hose, and between the main cast ing and tie riser, is to be preferred. In this manner standardization of parts and production can readily be achieved.

Another important object of the present invention is the provision of a shower unit of the character described which includes at least'one, and preferably a plurality, of spray heads or nozzles, each of which constitutes a separate and independent "unit which may be inserted into the riser which the main casting of the device supports. She number and location of the spray heads or nozzles on the riser, and also their respective positions on the riser, will determine the character, quantity and direction or directions of the spray. The spray may be directed upwardly or downwardly or laterally or it may be directed in all three directions at the same time.

The use of separate and independent spray heads or nozzles makes for very substantial advantages over the prior art. The same basic design may be employed whether one or five or an ven. greater number of spray heads or nozzles are used in any given unit. Like the other parts the shower unit, these spray heads or nozzles b in screw threaded or press fitted ngagement with the riser. Since screw threaded connecticns are to be preferred in this construction, the number of spray heads or nozzles in the riser may varied by simply varying the number of tapped holes which may be provided therein. If it be desired to install only one spray head in a given riser, a single tapped hole may be provided therein to receive said spray head; where half a dozen spray heads are to be incorporated into single riser, half a dozen tapped holes should therein be provided to receive said spray heads. The nature oi the construction of'the riser remains constant and unchanged, irrespective of the number ofspray heads which may be incorporated therein and the nature of the construction of th spray heads also remains constant and unchanged, whether one or more than one are installed in a single riser. This feature standardizes and facilitates production to a very considerable extent since any number of different models may be had'with the same parts.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a shower unit of the character described having individual spray heads incorporated therein as mentioned above, each spray head be ing individually adjustable to provide for a coarser or finer spray with a greater or lesser fiow or volume of water. Each spray head is provided with a screw type of adjustment construction and all that need be done to change the character or quantity of the spray is to turn the screw adjustment in the appropriate direction to the desired extent. It is possible, in multiheaded shower units of the character described, to have one or more of the spray heads adjusted for a strong spray and one or more adjusted for a relatively weak spray, thus rendering the shower unit an extremely versatile device which may be adjusted and adapted to meet all shower and spray requirements.

The spray heads or nozzles may be designed for screw machine production so that they may be produced in large quantities at relatively low cost. The adjustment screws of these spray heads are also ideally adapted for screw machine manufacture.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of spray heads or nozzles of the character described which may be used for shower purposes, as well as for many other purposes where liquids, gases and powders are sprayed or similarly emitted or ejected. Although the principal application of the present invention is to showers, and especially portable showers, it has many other applications to fields and industries and uses which are far removed from showers. For example, the invention may be applied to sprinkling and irrigating systems for lawns, gardens and agricultural farms. It may also be applied to sprinkler systems which are installed and employed for fire fighting purposes. The invention may be applied to the application of insecticides and similar chemical compositions to wide agricultural areas, irrespective of whether these insecticides or other chemical compositions be in liquid, gas or solid (powder) form. It will be understood that these applications are set forth herein solely for pur-- poses of illustration and that the invention is susceptible of many other applications equally as well.

Still another object of this invention is the provision of a portable shower of the character described which is relatively simple and inexpensive both in construction and in assembly. The spike and the spray heads may be of screw machine design. The riser is an ordinary pipe or tube. There is only one casting. All of the parts may be secured to each other by means of screw threaded connections. Shipment is feasible both in assembled and unassembled condition.

Preferred forms of this invention are shown in the drawing purely for illustrative purposes. In the drawing:

Fig. l is a side view of a portable shower made in accordance with one form of this invention, showing the use of a spike to support it on the ground;

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof, the main castin being partly broken away to show its screw threaded engagement with the riser;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View through one of the spray heads;

Fig. 4 is a similar view ShQWlIIg a modified form of spray head;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1, showing the portable shower supported on the ground by means of a base or pedestal, rather than by means of a spike;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged perspective view, partly broken away and in section, of the female part of the spray head shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 8 is an exploded, perspective view of the male and female parts of a third form of spray head.

Reference to Fig. 1 will disclose the fact that the portable shower I0 comprising the first form of this invention, is provided with a main casting l l, a spike 12 which may be driven into the ground i3 to support the portable shower thereon, a riser M and a plurality of spray heads Hi. The main casting ll has a downwardl extending portion 20 and an upwardly extending portion 2i which is in vertical alignment therewith. The downwardly extending portion 20 may be provided with a vertically extending hole which may have internal screw threads formed therein and the spike may have external screw threads formed at its upper end for engagement with said internal screw threads of downwardly extending portion 20. This is one way of securing the spike to the casting and it will be understood that there are many other ways well known to those skilled in the art. The upwardly extending portion 21 constitutes a relatively solid boss which is situated in line with the spike when the spike is inserted in downwardly extending portion 29. No part of the portable shower is situated directly above upwardly extending portion 21 so that a hammer or other suitable means may be employed to strike said upwardly ex tending portion 2| for the purpose of driving the spike into the ground. The upwardly extending portion will hereinafter b designated or referred to as the anvil of the present device.

Spike I 2 may constitute a solid rod which is pointed at its lower end and screw threaded at its upper end, as has above been indicated. It may, of course, be made of tubular material, such as a length of pipe. In Fig. 6 the same portable shower is shown mounted on a base or pedestal 25. Extending upwardly from the base, centrally thereof, is a short rod or length of pipe 265 which may be screw threaded at its upper end for engagement with internally threaded portion 28 in the place and stead of spike i2. The base may be of any suitable construction, it may be hollow or solid and it may comprise a casting or it may be made of tubular material. Vertical stem or post 2&3 may be screw threadedly secured to the base or it may be press fitted thereto, or welded thereto or in any other manner suitably fastened thereto.

Casting II also has a laterally extending por tion 28 having an internally threaded hole formed therein to receive the externally threaded fitting 29 of hose 30. It is by this means that the portable shower constituting the present invention may be hooked up or connected to a source of water under pressure. If desired, portion 25 may be externally threaded to receive an internally threaded fitting or screw threads may entirely be dispensed with and a friction fit or other suitable fit may be provided between the hose and the casting.

The main casting has still another outwardly extending portion formed thereon, to wit curved,

upwardly extending portion 32. Upwardly extending portion 32 is offset from anvil 2| in order to avoid interference between it and any hammer that may be used to strike the anvil. Upwardly extending portion 32 may be provided with a hole formed therein and internal screw threads in said hole. The riser hi may be provided with external screw threads at its lower end for engagement with the internal screw threads of upwardly extending portion 32. If desired, other suitable fastening means may be employed to secure the riser to the main casting.

It has been stated that a hole is formed in laterally extending portion 23, whi h may more suitably be described as the hose engaging portion, and that another hole is formed in the upwardly extending portion 32 which may more conveniently be described as the riser engaging portion of the main casting. It has also been stated that a third hole is formed in the down wardly extending portion 2:; which also may more conveniently be designated as the spike engaging portion of the main casting. The two holes in portions 28 and 32 are actually continuous with each other and they form a curved passageway 35 which extends through the main casting, providing communication between hose 3% and riser Id. The hole in spike engaging portion 29 normally does not communicate with passageway 35, although it may communicate therewith, if so desired. It would be desirable to provide communication between the hole in portion 28 and riser engaging portion if it is decided to connect said portion 29 to a source of water under pressure. In such case portion it would be secured, say to a water pipe, and portion 23 would be blocked ofi. In the preferred form of this invention, however, main casting i i made precisely as it is shown in the drawing, namely with a cored, curved passageway 35; between hose engaging portion 28 and riser engaging portion 32. The hole in spike engaging portion is a dead end hole.

Riser Hi is a tubular member or pipe which projects vertically above riser engaging portion 32 of the main casting and which may be bent over, say 45, at its upper end i"). Its top ii is blocked or closed off. It is provided with a pinrality of tapped holes s2 formed in its main, vertically extending portion, as well as in its bent upper portion 4%. One of these tapped holes :22 is clearly shown in Fig. 3. Mounted is may in each of said tapped holes s2 is the female part 63 of spray head l5. This female part has a tapped hole 55 formed therein, centi thereof, and the male part dii of said spray head is therein mounted.

The female part of the spray head coin" prises what may be described as a bushing or fitting which has a head or flange i8 and a re duced shank portion 49. It is this shank portion which is externally threaded for engagement with internally threaded hole it in the riser. When the shank is screwed in tight, head portion or annular flange d3 engages the outer wall of the riser very tightly and a water-tight connection between said female part "58 and the riser it thereby results. Flange it has a cone-sh ped recess 5i! formed therein concentrically with tapped hole as. Grooves or ridges 5! are form d along the wall of said recess at, in radial relation to tapped hole 45. These grooves or ridges may be of equal depth or height from end to end or they may taper in depth or height from their respective inner ends to their respective outer ends so that said grooves or ridges may actually start with relatively small proportions at their inner ends and end up with relatively large proportions at their outer ends. As a matter of fact the wall of recess 58 may actually be smooth at its lower or smaller end and grooved or ridged only in the direction of its larger or outer end.

Male part 48 of the spray head may be designated as a threaded stud or adjustment screw. It comprises a cone-shaped head 55 having a reduced, threaded shank 56 which may be inserted into tapped hole 55 in the female part. Longitudinally extending grooves 51 are formed in said threaded shank and they project partly into the cone-shaped head 55 of said male part. These grooves 5'5 provide a passageway for the water from the riser to the cone-shaped recess 58 of the female part. A slot 58 is formed in the head of the adjustment screw so that said screw may be turned in the female part by means of a screw driver. The head of the screw cooperates with the grooved or ridged recess of the female part to control the flow of water. Naturally, lesser space between the screw and the female part of the spray head will be productive of a relatively finer spray whereas a greater space between the male and the female parts will be pro ductive of a relatively coarser spray.

It will be understood that the ridges or grooves in the female part of spray head are but illustrative of the many paths. or tracks which may be provided in the female part for the passage of the water. By the same token grooves or rid es may he formed in the head of the male part and the cone shaped recess of the female part may be left smooth. This is simply a reversal of the arrangement above noted and it is illustrated in Fig. 8. Here a male part Ed is shown, having a head a! with a slot 62 formed therein and having a reduced, screw threaded shank 63. Head ti may be of truncated cone shape having a plurality of grooves or notches es formed peripherally thereof and radially with respect to the shank Female part as has a head or annular flange 5% and a reduced, screw threaded shank 6'5 with a tapped hole (iii formed therein to receive screw threaded shank 63 of the male part. Head 556 has a cone shaped recess t formed therein and it will be seen that said recess has a smooth wall. Tapped hole E3 has a plurality of longitudinally extending grooves in formed therein which correspond to grooves 5? of the male part of spray head it. Female part may be inserted into a tapped hole 22 in the riser in the same manner that female part as has above been described as being inserted into said tapped hole. Male part til may be brought into engagement with said female part iii: in the same manner that the male part 4t.- was brought into engagement with the female part 43. Male part es may be turned with a screw driver to increase or decrease the water flow.

Another modification of the spray head which the present invention covers is shown in Fig. It will there be seen that the riser is provided with diametrically opposite holes and i5 respectively. Hole i5 is somewhat larger than hole is and the latter hole is tapped to receive a screw '5'? which constitutes the male part of this third form of spray head. The female part iii is press fitted into the larger hole iii. This female part has a head or annular flange it and a reduced shank ill which is provided with a centrally extending hole 8|. The head of the iemale part is provided with a cone shaped recess 82 which may be grooved or ridged as above described. Screw H has a relatively long shank 8:? which extends the full diametrical distance from one side of the riser to the other. it also has a cone shaped head 85 which cooperates with the cone shaped recess 82 in the manner previously described with respect to the first form of sprinkler head herein discussed. As shown in Fig. 4, recess 82 is grooved or ridged and head 35 is smooth. It may be found desirable to reverse this arrangement and to form grooves, notches or ridges on the head of the screw and to leave the cone-shaped recess smooth. There is, of course, sufiicient space between the inner wall of shank 88 of the female part and the shank of the male part to allow water to pass therethrough and through the space between the heads of said male and female parts. The male part has a slot 8'3 formed in its said head portion so that it may be turned in threaded hole 76 to increase or decrease the size of the opening or passageway between the two head portions of the male and female parts.

It will be understood from the foregoing that what has hereinabove been described and what is shown in the drawing is merely illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention in any way whatsoever. The specific forms of the invention in the drawing may be modified in many ways and other forms may be provided within the broad scope and spirit of the invention.

By way of illustration of some of the modifiations which are encompassed within the scope of the present invention, the following may be mentioned: The spray heads or nozzles shown in the drawing each comprise a single female part and a single male part. It will be clearly understood that a pyramidal arrangement may be provided wherein a series of male and female parts may be incorporated into a single unit comprising for example, a relatively large iemale part encircling a relatively large male part, a relatively small female part mounted within the large male part and a relatively small male part mounted within the relatively small female part, making a total of two spray heads in a single assembly. Another illustration of modifications which may be incorporated into the present invention is the angular relationship between the bend in the head of the riser and the spray heads which are mounted therein. In the preferred form of this invention the bend extends at an angle of approximately 45 to the vertical riser. Th axial center of each spray head mounted on said bentend portion of the riser is normal to the axial center of said bent end portion and the wall of the cone-shaped recess in the female part as well as the wall on the cone-shaped head of the male part, both are inclined at an angle of approximately 45 to the axial center of the spray heads. Hence, some of the spray will be emitted from the spray heads on substantially horizontal lines and some of the spray will be emitted therefrom on substantially vertical lines, most of the spray being emitted in the 90 space between said horizontal and vertical lines. This will have the eifect of controlling the direction of the spray so as to cover a given, relatively concentrated area. In other words, the hose connection to the riser is situated at the back of the riser and the spray is so controlled that it is emitted from the front of the riser in the manner above described.

These angular arrangements are purely illustrative of the present invention and other angular arrangements will be found to be suitable for the difierent purposes of the portable shower herein described and claimed.

We claim:

1. A supporting base for a portable shower having a riser and at least one spray head on said riser, said supporting base comprising a central, vertically extending portion, a substantially horizontal portion extending laterally from said vertical portion on one side thereof, an upwardly curved portion extending laterally from said vertical portion on the other side thereof, and a stand on which the vertically extending portion is mounted, said vertical, horizontal and upwardly curved portions being integral with each other and having an arcuate passageway formed therethrough which extends through the horizontal portion, across the vertical portion and up through the upwardly curved portion, the free end of the upwardly curved portion being pro vided with screw threads to receive the riser, the free end or the horizontal portion being rovided with screw threads to receive a supply hose, said passageway providing communication between said hose and said riser, and the vertical portion having an anvil-shaped top which is in vertical alignment with the stand, so that hammer-blows struck upon said anvil-shaped top of the vertical portion are transmitted therethrough to the stand to secure the stand to the ground, the top of the stand being provided with screw threads and the bottom of the vertical portion of the supporting base being provided with complementary screw threads so as to provide for screw threaded engagement between said stand and said supporting base.

2. A supporting base for a portable shower having a riser and at least one spray head on said riser, said supporting base comprising a central, vertically extending portion, a substantially horizontal portion extending laterally from said ver tical portion on one side thereof, an upwardly curved portion extending laterally from said vertical portion on the other side thereof, and a stand on which the verticall extending portion is mounted, said vertical, horizontal and upwardly curved portions being integral with each other and having an arcuate passageway formed therethrough which extends through the horizontal portion, across the vertical portion and up through the upwardly curved portion, the free end of the upwardly curved portion being provided with screw threads to receive the riser, the free end of the horizontal portion being provided with screw threads to receive a supply hose, said passageway providing communication between said hose and said riser, and the vertical portion having an anvil-shaped top which is in vertical alignment with the stand, so that hammer-blows struck upon said anvil-shaped top of the vertical portion are transmitted therethrough to the stand to secure the stand to the ground, the stand being a vertically extending spike which is in vertical alignment with the vertical portion of the supporting base and in vertical alignment with the anvil-shaped top of said vertical portion of the supporting base, so that hammer-blows struck upon said anvil-shaped top will drive the spike into the ground.

ALBERT HENRY TIEDEMANN. CARL SCI-IAERTL.

(References on following page) REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Best Nov. 13, 1888 Stott Feb. 27, 1894 Savill Apr. 9, 1895 Merrill Oct. 29, 1895 McCoole Feb. 13, 1912 Busch Aug. 27, 1912 Eickman June 23, 1914 Perkins Oct. 5, 1920 Number Number 

